“Just because of the amount of sizes you have to have, this [sector] requires a lot of capital upfront.”

Anderson and co-founder Lara Brockhurst started their label two years ago, having worked for the design business DCI Corporation. After DCI collapsed, they decided to launch their own underwear design start-up.

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AB Enterprises produces designs including "TheKnicker", which launched last week, as well as designs under licence for the lingerie range of model and entrepreneur Dita Von Teese.

“The power of the Dita brand cannot be underestimated, and she’s always been very happy with our designs,” Anderson says.

AB Enterprises turns over about $5 million and already has a key presence in US and British stores, including Bloomingdales, Nordstrom and Selfridges.

Anderson says shoppers at US department stores have connected strongly with the start-up’s designs, saying the typical American underwear consumer “is very fashion aware” and willing to spend big on lingerie.

Finding new markets is key to the growth of the business, Anderson says, precisely because the capital-intensive nature of the industry.

For any new design to get produced, the minimum garment run is about 2000, so having a number of countries and distributors to sell into is important.

It also means designing products for a wide range of customers. The company’s newly launched "TheKnicker" brand was designed after surveying a broad cohort of women about their perfect pair of undies.

The global underwear sales market is set to hit more than $203 billion a year by 2021, according to Statista. Shoppers are increasingly at ease with buying online, with Australia expected to generate 15 percent of undies sales via online channels by 2021.

Going global

Helen Anderson ( left ) and Lara Brockhurst are selling to top global stores. Credit:Eddie Jim

“We’ve just recently launched into the UK and European markets, and we’ve started to increase our focus in those markets,” founder Kristy Chong says.

The business, which turned over $3 million last year, launched in 2014.

Chong says in the years since, a whole range of local underwear start-ups have emerged.

“Feminine hygiene hasn’t changed all that much, but in the underwear space, we’re seeing a lot more boutique models and subscription-based models,” she says.

Modibodi founder Kristy Chong.

Modibodi was one of the first global brands to offer feminine hygiene underwear.

The task now is to expand the product range while learning more about how overseas customers interact with the brand – for example, Chong says she has discovered French shoppers have a higher than average order value.

It’s easier than ever for companies like Modibodi to reach new markets because online channels “allow you to go global”, Chong says. The business has third-party distributors in Dubai and Korea and sells online into markets such as Britain.

A significant chunk of Australian small businesses who export overseas are in the womenswear space. An Australia Post survey of small business customers conducted this year showed of the small businesses sending their goods overseas, 24 per cent were in the women’s apparel market.

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Besides “world domination”, Modibodi is also continuing to reach its audiences across a range of digital marketing platforms, Chong says.

“Our market is so wide, we’re not just an Instagram brand.”

Anderson says that while AB Enterprises took “significant investment” from herself and Brockhurst to start, the lingerie space is a great place to be as an Australian designer.

“It’s rewarding, you put so much effort in – and then you begin to see runs on the board.”